Primary care: Practice meets technology
ADAPTING TO THE GENERATIONAL SHIFT
Physicians and physician educators should be aware of this generational shift. Millennial-aged doctors will continue to embrace technology to achieve their work-life balance in order to avoid burnout and maintain robust primary care practices whether in the office or outside of it.
Medical school curricula
Medical schools need to adjust their curricula to prepare the next generation of physicians to engage with these new healthcare delivery models and technology. Practicing telemedicine, assessing mobile app safety and utility, and effectively integrating data from patient-specific devices represent a new skill set that is considerably different from the typical face-to-face encounters learners experience today.
Recognizing this, more than 50% of medical schools have added telemedicine and digital health to the curriculum,24 with suggestions to include telemedicine-related content in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies.25
Improving the electronic medical record
Maximizing the efficiency of electronic medical records will also be important because physicians currently spend more than 50% of their workday on documentation and administrative tasks; for every 1 hour of patient contact, physicians spend 2 hours in front of the electronic medical record.26 End-users (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, scribes) should interact or engage with developers of electronic medical record systems to promote platforms that enhance workflow, increase connectivity to mobile apps, foster team collaboration, and provide consistency in patient safety and privacy.27
Early and continuous education on use of the electronic medical record should be routine, as proficiency improves work-life balance, physician job satisfaction, and patient care by reducing after-hours note completion and in-box tasks leading to burnout.28
Technology-enabled primary care
Technology-enabled healthcare is here to stay and will continue to evolve, incorporating telehealth, smartphones, mobile apps, in-home and wearable devices, and online video communication.17 Clinicians will need to be adept at working with these technologies to advance quality care in population health. It will require clinician training and professional development, advances in technology, and revised reimbursement policies.17 But despite the increased use of mobile apps, there remain concerns about the possible dangers associated with their use, including breaches in confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and lack of professional medical involvement and evidence in their design.29
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING SAVVY
There is a growing need for primary care providers to be technologically savvy and readily accessible via e-mail, healthcare portals, or in the office to keep up with the generational shifts and expectations occurring in this decade. Healthcare systems should have the right infrastructure in place, including efficient Web platforms to support telemedicine or to synchronize digital tracking devices, as well as a trained workforce to understand and implement these revolutionary changes into everyday practice. Educators will need to provide training in these changing platforms to medical students and residents. Primary care will evolve to redefine its role within the context of these emerging technologies17 and to adjust to these market demands in order to stay relevant.
